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Dot & Pop in Juneau

ryan — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:18:56 -0600

We were blessed enough to have a few hours with Dot & Pop during the Juneau stop of their Canada-Alaska adventure. Since our visit to Europe last spring, Meadow has talked often of Dot & Pop, and can't resist mentioning them every time she hears a British accent.

Both Laura and Dot have injured knees, so Pop and I sat in the backseat with Meadow. We got to geeking out about airplanes and GPS and other fun stuff when Meadow got tired and hollered out "boys! boys stop!".

We got to have tea with our favorite couple from across the pond, and have already started plotting how we can make it over their way again.

(For more about Dot & Pop read back through the posts made during our trip to Europe in March '08).

Shadow Discovery

ryan — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:14:56 -0600

Tonight after putting pajamas on Meadow noticed the moving black thing on the wall behind her and exclaimed "what is that!". I had the absolute honor of getting to tell her its called a shadow, and it comes from the light shining on you. After attempts at poking and grabbing it, and seeing how fast we could make it "go", we decided to get our cameras and take pictures of it! Thank you Meadow for giving me these simple and unforgettable moments.

Klukwan Speed Racers

ryan — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:28:22 -0600

These two young ladies kept me company during my weekend onsite to Klukwan. I had to razz them about not wearing helmets but after some clever looks they put them on. Then I joked with them that they should bring me a popsicle. They came back with some salmon! Amongst a high-tech whirlwind, these two were the refreshing highlight.

Bear Warning

ryan — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:58:50 -0600

After the rash of bear encounters this year in Alaska it's a wonder signs like this aren't more prevalent.

How to Watch the Olympics Half a World Away

ryan — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:21:27 -0600

The 2008 Beijing Olympics start on Friday, but how can you watch them if they're half a world away? Most of us in the "western world" will be asleep while the athletes are doing their thing. Fortunately, the geeks over at Wired have compiled a list of sites and techs you can use to find and watch your favorite events: Watch the Olympics Online.

Energy Costs in Alaska

ryan — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:14:25 -0600

Recently here in Juneau we went through a spell where our hydro-electric power supply was interrupted by avalanche. The subsequent costs for switching over to diesel made our power bill increase about 5X. This caused quite the uproar in Juneau, and while the town was on diesel for half the length of time originally proposed, it threw the energy/oil issue straight into the limelight.

In Alaska, we produce a lot of oil. It gets piped out of the fields up north down to Valdez, loaded onto tankers, shipped off for refining, turned into heating oil or gasoline, shipped back to Alaska, and put in our tanks. From what I've seen, we pay more for Alaskan gas in Alaska than others in the "lower 48" due to the extended shipping costs.

Alaska is a rich state because of the oil field rights. Every Alaskan receives a check each year for around $1000 from the Permanent Fund because of this. Even still, our villages are drowning in fuel costs. Juneau is lucky to have hydro power, but most villages in Alaska run their electricity off diesel generators. The costs are astounding. This article in the Anchorage Daily News states that a gallon of unleaded gasoline in Barrow costs $10. Diesel for heating houses is only slightly less expensive. And the situation is getting worse. The irony is Barrow is only a few hundred miles from some of the richest oil fields in the world.

"I'm tired of everyone else harping on $4 a gallon for gas," said longtime Barrow resident Marvin Olson. "We've been paying that for four years when everybody else was paying $2 a gallon."

The governor is working on a plan to give every Alaskan a $1200 supplemental to offset the costs of energy, but is that enough, and can the state keep it up?

For more on this topic, subscribe to this Google News feed.

MJ and G'Ma Bond with Nature, Each Other

ryan — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:46:16 -0600

At the tail end of a wonderful week I went up the tram with mom and MJ. The nature center on Mt. Roberts is filled with wildlife, which as you can see are quite friendly. The moose even talked!